


5) Never Let Them Know They've Affected You.

by QueenKatelynTheAristocrat



Series: How To Avoid Bullies: A Series [6]
Category: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Adorable, Best Friends, Bullying, Character Study, Draco Malfoy Redemption Arc, Draco Malfoy is a Good Parent, Draco is a better father than Harry don't even fight me on this, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Bonding, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Good Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Compliant, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Malfoy Family Feels (Harry Potter), Pre-Canon, Pre-Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Pre-Slash, long term illness (Astoria)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:34:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25406239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenKatelynTheAristocrat/pseuds/QueenKatelynTheAristocrat
Summary: ""Scorpius took a deep breath, and decided to give his dad a chance. “I don’t even know how to explain it really, I just feel… well, the other kids at school aren’t exactly… the nicest."“What do you mean the other kids aren’t the nicest?” Draco asked. "In which Astoria is sick, Albus is far away, Scorpius needs to talk to someone about all these feelings before they drive him absolutely insane, and Draco proves himself once again to be the Best Dad Ever (With plenty of advice on How To Avoid Bullies.)
Relationships: Astoria Greengrass/Draco Malfoy, Draco Malfoy & Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy & Scorpius Malfoy, Scorpius Malfoy/Albus Severus Potter
Series: How To Avoid Bullies: A Series [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1380799
Comments: 22
Kudos: 190





	5) Never Let Them Know They've Affected You.

“And by the time that was all said and done, their first year was ending, and Scorpius was coming home to me forever changed by the horrors he faced here.” 

Draco studied the expression on Harry’s face: the only word he could think of to adequately describe it would be shell-shocked, plain and simple. 

There was a part of Draco that was furious with Harry Potter for being such a fuck-up of a parent that he couldn’t even see his own son was going through Hell: it was undeniably the reason they were in this situation today. 

This situation where Draco’s only reason for living has been taken away from him -- his only child, his beautiful son -- and he had no idea if he would ever get him back. 

_Don’t think that way, Draco._

Scorpius would be fine. Because he had to be. 

_I just lost Astoria, I can’t lose him, too. If I lose him too I just might --_

No. None of that. 

Everything would be fine. And besides, there was nothing they could do about it right now. Nothing he could do besides try to convince _the_ most self-righteous man in the world that Scorpius wasn’t some kind of monster. 

If Scorpius was a monster, then heaven was for sinners and God ruled Hell, because monsters couldn’t possibly be evil if they counted Scorpius Malfoy amongst their numbers. 

It would be a devil of a task trying to convince Harry Potter of that fact, though. 

Speaking of the bastard, he still hadn’t moved an inch since the last time Draco had spoken. 

“Potter, you awake over there?” 

Harry looked up. “What? Yeah, of course. I just…” 

“You just what? You’re just now realizing just how much of your own child’s life you’ve been missing out on? Honestly.” Draco wasn’t in the mood to play nice with Harry’s feelings. 

Even better, Harry looked mildly ashamed of himself. “I just can’t believe he was going through all this and didn’t tell me. I mean, I knew some of the kids at school were giving him a hard time and everything, but I never even suspected…” 

“That Gryffindors could ever do something so cruel? Most of us have moved passed school house prejudice a long time ago, Potter.” 

“Not _that._ I just can’t… whatever. You really knew about this all along?” Draco considered asking what Harry was about to say, but found after a second’s consideration that he didn’t really care. 

He merely nodded instead. “Since the summer after their first year, at least.” 

Harry shook his head, looking remarkably flabbergasted. “And Scorpius just, what? Came up to talk to you? Somehow I don’t believe that you’re really all that approachable, Malfoy, even to your own son.” 

Draco found it hard to control the anger produced by just how much he took offense to that. Where did Potter get off accusing someone else of being a distant type of parent? “If you _must_ insist on delving into the private lives of everyone around you, I’ll have you know that Astoria,” Draco heard the way his voice cracked as he said her name, noticed that Harry noticed and glanced away from him, hated himself for being so weak, “Astoria was really sick that summer. The beginning of the end, as I always end up thinking of it. So I’m _sure_ Scorpius would have preferred to talk to his mum about everything he went through the year before, but _unfortunately for him_ I was all he had. And I’ll have you know, Potter, that I did my _damned_ best to be what he needed at that moment. And that’s a good sight better than what you’ve done.” 

Draco was vindicated to see that Harry was completely without response to the raw honesty of that statement. The person Draco used to be would have smiled to see him so wrong-footed. As it was, he was merely glad for any advantage he could get in this fraught conversation. 

Eventually, Harry settled on, “I’m sorry, Malfoy.” 

Draco raised an eyebrow. “Are you?” 

Harry looked down again. “I didn’t mean… that is, I’m ashamed to say that I forgot…” 

“That my wife was cripplingly ill for years before she passed?” Draco asked, bluntly. 

“Yes.” 

“I can’t say I blame you, Potter. It’s something that I sometimes wish I had the luxury of forgetting as well.” 

There was silence for a good few moments as those words hung in the air between them. 

And then, “Do you miss her?” 

A shot of anger the likes of which Draco hadn’t felt in years. “Yes, I bloody well _miss_ her, Potter. She was the love of my life. And now Scorpius is missing as well, and I just --” 

Draco took a deep breath. He would not allow himself to lose control. 

“I’m sorry.” Harry said, again. 

“You’re apologizing quite a bit today, aren’t you?” 

“It seems I have quite a bit to apologize _for.”_ Harry said, gazing at the list again with his eyebrows drawn together. 

Draco watched as he ran his finger across the words “You mean there were moments when my dad didn’t react to something? I’m shocked.” in Albus’s handwriting. 

Draco hated to feel any sympathy for the man at all, but he had to admit, he looked more than a bit lost. “If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t badmouth you once during that conversation.” 

Harry looked up at Draco, confused. 

“The one that led Scorpius to add that to the list. I just mean that Albus wouldn’t have gotten any unflattering stories about you through me, or anything like that.” Draco went on. 

“Oh.” Harry said, then went back to gazing at the list. 

Conversation effectively murdered, they lapsed back into silence. 

After a few minutes: “Malfoy?” 

“Yes?” 

“Would you mind, maybe…” 

“Maybe what?” 

“Telling the story. Of the next entry on the list, I mean.” 

Draco didn’t know how to feel about that. “It’s very personal.” 

Harry looked _physically_ disappointed at that. “Oh, well, I guess I understand --” 

“But,” Draco cut him off. The hope on Harry’s face was almost pathetic. “What the bloody fuck else do I have to lose at this point?” 

“That means you’ll --?” 

“Yes, I’ll tell you the story, Potter.” 

_Maybe it’ll get him to stop looking so bleak, and it’ll also probably take my mind off just how bleak I feel about the current situation,_ Draco thought. 

As Harry settled in to listen again, Draco began, “I suppose it must’ve been only a few days after their first year ended. I can’t imagine Scorpius would be able to keep his feelings to himself for very long…” 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scorpius wasn’t nearly as glad as he probably should have been to be home for the summer and away from the bullies at Hogwarts. 

For one thing, being home for the summer meant not being able to see Albus for three months, which was incredibly difficult given that Scorpius had gotten used to spending literally every waking moment with Albus, and getting used to being without someone was apparently infinitely harder than getting used to being with them. 

And for another, his mum… Well, Scorpius didn’t really like thinking about that. 

And regardless, it wasn’t like the bullies were going to disappear just because they weren’t all gathered in the same place right at the moment. Scorpius was absolutely sure they would be back to their routine of torment the very moment they all stepped back on Hogwarts’ grounds, and _that_ idea was terrifying in and of itself. In fact, they’d probably be _worse_ after having saved up all their malicious energies with no outlet for release over the past three months… 

So, in conclusion, Scorpius was somehow both dreading and simultaneously eagerly awaiting the start of term. And he was only two days into summer break. 

Scorpius was unsure of what exactly he was going to do with all these feelings with no Albus to tell them to. Sure, he could write letters, but that just wasn’t the _same._ And anytime he wrote anything down and sent it to Albus, he ran the risk of James finding it. Maybe he and Albus could create some kind of secret code? 

In fact, doing so just might keep Scorpius’s mind off everything that was going on. Maybe a project for later in the summer. 

But right _now_ he had to get some of these thoughts out of his head before they drove him absolutely insane. 

He wondered if his mum was awake. Maybe she would be well enough today to listen to Scorpius’s worries, at least for a little while. He didn’t want to upset her, though. Maybe he should just keep it to himself, and only go visit her later when he could think of more pleasant stories to tell. He could tell her more about Albus… she’d always seemed happy in her responses to the letters he sent her about his best friend. 

But Scorpius wasn’t sure he was quite up to telling fun stories about Albus just now. Not when he missed him so much it felt like he couldn’t breathe sometimes. 

Scorpius sighed aloud and reached for his copy of the list where he’d left it on his bedside table -- no need to hide it when Scorpius had a room all to himself -- and settled back against his pillows with it balanced against his knees. 

Scorpius ran a finger over the words “Always. Stay. Together.” in Albus’s handwriting. Felt the way Albus wrote hard enough, pressed down with enough force and passion, that he left deep dents in the parchment. His capital letters and periods were deep enough that they almost broke through to the other side. 

Scorpius sighed and rolled the list back up so he could stick it in the pocket of his robes. He supposed there was no harm in at least _checking_ if his mum was awake. 

Scorpius was so occupied by his thoughts as he made his way through the winding halls of the manor that it felt like no time at all before he was pushing open the door to his mother’s room and whispering, “Mum? Are you awake?”

There was no immediate answer, and as he stepped inside, Scorpius realized why. 

His mum was definitely not awake. 

Astoria was lying in bed, covered with two blankets and a comforter, but still every once in a while she shivered. She was pale and her eyes were closed, but at least her breathing was steady. Scorpius watched her carefully for a few seconds until he saw for sure that her chest was moving up and down as she inhaled and exhaled. 

Proof that at least she was alive. 

It wasn’t until he cleared his throat and said, “Scorpius? Did you need something?” that Scorpius realized his dad was there as well, sitting at his mum’s bedside and holding her hand, and given that Scorpius couldn’t remember seeing his dad since breakfast, he had probably been there all day. 

“Oh, no… well, I mean… I just… not really.” Scorpius stuttered, finding himself unsure now that the sight of his mother had effectively made all of his worries seem silly and childish. 

He began backing towards the door without even consciously realizing he was doing it. 

“Scorpius, wait. Come here.” Draco said, turning away from his wife’s prone form to face his son. 

Scorpius wrung his hands as he nervously made his way towards his father. When Draco patted the chair beside his own, Scorpius sat down. 

“What’s wrong?” Draco asked, without preamble. 

“Nothing’s really _wrong,_ exactly, I just wanted to talk to mum about… but I guess it doesn’t really matter.” Scorpius looked down at his hands where they were still clenched tight together. 

“Scorpius.” Draco said, in a tone that had Scorpius looking back up at him, “Of course it matters.” 

Scorpius just looked at him for a moment. “Ok, so it does matter. But that doesn’t change the fact that she… isn’t able to talk right now.” 

Both Scorpius and Draco looked over at Astoria where she lay before them. They watched her breathe in and out. In and out. It was the kind of rhythm that should have been calming, but somehow really wasn’t. 

Just passed the point where it seemed a little too late to continue the conversation where they left off, Draco said, “No, I suppose she can’t. But… is it something that maybe I can help with?” 

Scorpius could hear in his voice that his dad was in uncomfortable territory here. Talking about feelings was more Astoria’s realm than his. 

“You’ll think it’s silly.” Scorpius said, still watching his mum. 

“I guarantee you I won’t.” Draco said, and Scorpius could hear that he meant it. 

Scorpius took a deep breath, and decided to give his dad a chance. “I don’t even know how to explain it really, I just feel… well, the other kids at school aren’t exactly… the nicest. And I miss Albus. Quite a bit. And I usually talk to him about this stuff, because he knows exactly how it feels, but he’s not here right now, and I don’t want to put any of this in a letter, and I just…” 

It was so much harder to talk to his dad than it was to talk to his mum. Somehow, he felt that Astoria understood him at a fundamental level. A level at which he and Draco were very different. 

“What do you mean the other kids aren’t the nicest?” Draco asked. 

This was exactly Scorpius’s point. He wouldn’t have had to explain this to his mum. Or Albus, for that matter. 

“They don’t… treat us very well. They’re mean.” Scorpius explained, unable to meet his dad’s eye as he did so. 

“The other kids are mean to you? Why didn’t you tell us? Who’s been mean? I bet it’s the Gryffindors, isn’t it?” Draco’s voice hadn’t gotten any louder, but somehow it had gotten more forceful. Scorpius wasn’t exactly sure how to describe it. 

“Well… it isn’t just the Gryffindors, really. Although they’re generally the worst. It’s the other houses, as well, though.” Scorpius figured that was the easiest question to answer. 

“The other houses? Even the Slytherins?” his dad sounded like he couldn’t even fathom that: a house not supporting its’ own. 

“Sometimes, yes.” Scorpius admitted, a bit ashamed but unsure of why. 

“How could they…” Draco seemed unsure how to even finish that thought. 

“Well, I think it’s Albus and I together that does it, really. The Gryffindors are meaner to me. And the Slytherins are a fair bit ruder to him than me as well. Probably don’t think he belongs there, or whatever. But he does.” 

“I see.” Draco said, clearly struggling to take all this in. “And have any of the professors done anything about this?” 

Scorpius shrugged noncommittally. “Professor Longbottom always tells them to knock it off when they mess with us in Herbology. And that we can come to him if we ever need help or anything.” 

“I see.” Draco said again, but somehow darker than before. “I’m surprised they don’t do more to stop bullying aimed at one of Potter’s children.” 

Scorpius noticed that Draco didn’t say he expected them to do anything for _Scorpius._ Made sense, with what people thought about him. “People don’t really like Albus as much as his siblings.” 

Draco frowned at this. “What do you mean?” 

“The other kids call him ‘Slytherin Squib’. And the professors think he’s ungrateful and lazy. But he’s trying his best, he really is.” Scorpius was suddenly hit with the need to make his father understand that Albus was a good person. 

“Albus struggles in his classes?” 

“Maybe a little.” Scorpius admitted, “But he _is_ smart. Maybe if the others would leave him alone for two seconds so he could focus on class rather than avoiding stray hexes and bits of parchment, he wouldn’t be so far behind all the time.” 

Draco widened his eyes a bit at the vehemence in his son’s tone. “And do they leave you alone long enough to focus in class?” 

Scorpius smiled a bit. “I’m a bit harder to distract. And Albus is always watching out for me.” 

“Harder to distract?” 

“I’m generally too invested in what’s going on in class to be bothered by what they’re doing around me. Albus gets really bothered, though. We even had to stop sitting in the front of the class because he always felt like he had to watch his back.” Scorpius explained. 

Draco nodded at that. “That’s smart. Never leave your enemies where you can’t see them.” 

Scorpius frowned a bit. He hadn’t exactly thought of it that way. “Yeah, well, the professor is more likely to notice someone turning around to lob ink at us than if they throw it at us from behind.” 

Draco was looking more and more concerned with every sentence out of Scorpius’s mouth. He wondered if maybe he should be keeping more of the details to himself. He didn’t want his dad worried about him when he was at school, when he should be focussed on helping his mum get better. 

“And the Gryffindors really treat Albus Potter in this manner? Even though his entire family is in that house?” Draco seemed to be stuck on that bit of information. 

Scorpius nodded vehemently, as if that would make his story more believable. “They see it as a betrayal, I think.” 

“That Albus is in Slytherin?” Draco asked.

“Yeah. And that he’s more like us than like them, I think.” 

Draco leaned back and crossed his arms. He seemed a bit taken aback by that. “And would you say Albus fits in well in Slytherin?” 

Scorpius nodded again. “Albus is far more devious than I am. Probably fits in better than I do, if I’m being honest.” 

Draco scrunched his eyebrows together. “I think you belong in Slytherin, Scorpius.” 

Scorpius shrugged. “Maybe. Sometimes I think I’m too nice.” 

His dad observed him for a long moment after that one. Almost to the point that Scorpius started fidgeting again. But he resisted. Barely. He always felt even more acutely the way his anxiety showed on the outside of his body when he was next to his father: Draco always seemed so… controlled. 

“I want you to remember that Slytherin isn’t about being cruel, Scorpius. No matter what people might try to tell you.” Draco said, eventually. “When I was your age, I got stuck in that mindset, and it never helped me once.” 

Now Scorpius was curious. “What do you think Slytherin is about, then?” 

Draco took a deep breath. “Slytherin is about… knowing what your mind is capable of, seeing the full breadth of your potential, and going for it with everything you’ve got. A lot of people say Slytherins only care about being the best. But I like to think we care more about being our best selves.” 

“What’s the difference?” 

“One is about competition with others. The other is about competition with oneself.” Draco clarified. 

Scorpius thought for a moment. “I think I understand that. I always want to be a better person. Maybe if I show them all how good I am, they’ll stop thinking of me as a monster.” 

Draco sat up straighter. “A monster?” 

“Well, everyone is always calling me ‘Voldemort’s son’...” Scorpius trailed off at the look on his father’s face.   
“I hadn’t known that rumor had invaded Hogwarts.” Scorpius was confused by how scared Draco looked. “Scorpius, you know that’s not true, don’t you?” 

“Oh, of course!” 

Draco breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Although nearly no one else does, it seems. Albus’s brother James says that he overheard his dad saying something about investigating the rumor more thoroughly one day to make sure there’s no merit to it. Albus says ‘Over his dead body’.” Scorpius found himself smiling again as he thought about Albus telling him that if his dad wanted to get to Scorpius, he was going to have to go through him first. 

Draco seemed to be considering his words carefully. “I wonder if Potter really said that.” 

Scorpius just shrugged. “You never know with James, whether he’s lying or telling the truth, really.” 

“And this James Potter… he verbally attacks his own brother? In public?” Draco didn’t hide how disgracefully he found the idea of family not supporting family. 

“Well, it’s more his friends than him, really. They do more than _verbally_ attack us though…” 

Scorpius muttered this last part, but Draco heard it anyway. He got really serious for a second. “Scorpius, has anyone physically harmed you at that school?” 

Scorpius shrugged, looking away. 

“Scorpius.” Draco said, showing that he wasn’t getting away without giving an answer. 

“Not really. Maybe a bruise or a scratch or two. Nothing to worry about. Well, except…” Scorpius trailed off, thinking that maybe he shouldn’t discuss that one particular incident. 

“Except what?” 

Damn, guess he wasn’t getting away with it. “Nothing really bad happened. A couple of upper year Gryffindors cornered me alone and they may have kicked me around a bit. But Albus stopped them before they got a chance to really do anything.” 

“ _Albus_ stopped them?” 

Scorpius nodded. “With wild magic. It was quite the explosion, really.” 

Draco thought for a moment. “He must’ve had quite the desire to protect you.” 

Scorpius smiled. “He always does.” 

Draco seemed not to know what exactly to think about that. Eventually he said, “And does he often have to protect you?” 

Scorpius thought about this. “Not as much now as he used to. We’ve decided that _avoiding_ the bullies is generally more effective than getting into a confrontation and having to try to fight back.” Scorpius brightened a bit as he remembered something, “We’ve even got a list, if you’d like to see it?” 

Draco nodded his assent, and Scorpius carefully got out the list and unrolled it on his lap. “Albus has a copy where if he writes something on his it shows up on mine and vice versa.” 

Draco chucked, and when Scorpius glanced over at him with eyebrow raised, he said, “I can definitely tell which bits are your handwriting and which are his. Albus’s father has abysmal handwriting as well.” 

Scorpius laughed. “Giving advice on his essays is like trying to read Latin.” 

“Or a language you haven’t been tutored in, Scorpius.” 

“It’s a turn of phrase!” 

“Is it?” 

They looked at each other for a second. “It is now that I’ve made it one.” Scorpius defended. 

Draco just shook his head in amusement. “I see you’ve already experienced the fickleness of Ravenclaws.” 

“Oh yeah. They’re generally alright to me, but not to Albus.” 

“Therefore, they’re out?” 

“Of course.” 

Draco nodded. 

Scorpius considered for a second before he asked, “Would you, by any chance, have any advice? To add to the list, I mean.” 

Draco kept his eyes on the list, but Scorpius could tell from the way his eyebrows drew together that he was thinking. After a moment, he said, “You know that during my time at Hogwarts, I wasn’t… always the kindest to the other children.” 

Scorpius smiled a bit sadly. “You were a bit of a bully.” 

Draco nodded, looking ashamed of himself. “I like to think I’ve left that part of my life behind me. Completely.” 

Scorpius wasn’t sure what to say at first, but eventually he settled on, “I believe you.” 

Draco looked up in surprise, as if he hadn’t expected that response at all. “Thank you, Scorpius. That means a lot.” 

“Of course, Dad.” 

Another moment passed. “But when I _was_ a bully… what I really wanted from the people I’d pick on was a reaction. Embarrassment, defiance, anger, frustration. Anything.” 

Scorpius nodded to show that he was listening. 

“But when they would ignore me. Like, really ignore me, not put on a tough act. When they would completely refuse to acknowledge my existence and give me absolutely _nothing._ That was when it stopped being satisfying. And eventually, I would just give up and move on to the next target.” Draco explained, still visibly ashamed of the person he used to be. 

“So what you’re saying is, don’t react.” 

“Exactly.” 

“Might be a bit hard for Albus.” Scorpius remarked. 

“Now _that’s_ the most Potter-like thing you’ve told me about him so far.” 

The two Malfoys shared a smile. 

“I think I’ll add it to the list. Albus could use being told that a few times even before we get back from break. Do you have a quill, by any chance?” 

Draco provided his son with a quill, ink, and a book to put behind the parchment so that it was easier to write. 

Scorpius proceeded to write down the following: 

  
  


_**"5) Never Let Them Know They’ve Affected You.** Got this one from Dad. Says that all he cared about when he was a bully was getting a reaction, and when he didn’t get one he gave up." _

It was only a few moments later that Albus began writing a response. It made Scorpius happy to think that Albus was looking at the list as well: it meant he missed Scorpius as much as Scorpius missed him. 

  
  


**"When he didn’t get a reaction? You mean there were moments when my dad didn’t react to something? I’m shocked."**

Draco let out a burst of shocked laughter at that. “You know, I think I like this kid.” 

Scorpius just rolled his eyes and proceeded to cross out Albus’s addition. He then wrote: 

_"There’s a point to this list, and that’s not it, Albus."_

Scorpius waited a second to see if Albus would have the guts to respond. Turns out he didn’t, because no more words appeared on the page following Scorpius’s. 

“He must’ve given up.” 

“Indeed.” Draco replied. 

The two of them sat in companionable silence for a moment, but eventually Scorpius broke it by saying, “Thank you for talking to me, Dad. You’ve really helped.” 

Draco smiled wider than Scorpius had seen in a very long time, “Glad I could help, Scorpius. And if you ever need to talk again when your mum isn’t… available. Remember that I will always be here for you. Whatever you need.” 

Scorpius only let himself hesitate for a second before throwing himself at his dad for a hug. Draco only hesitated a second before hugging him back, just as fiercely. 

“I love you, Dad.” Scorpius said. 

“I love you, too, Scorpius.” Draco responded. 

For the first time since he got back from Hogwarts for break, Scorpius felt content. 

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and Comments make my day! <3


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